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| Moses |
When we went to my friend’s farm to pick up our two new barn kitties, six kittens and two mother cats greeted us. A few kittens slept tucked up against the little barn they were in, unaware of our presence. The rest of the kittens scurried about, coming in our out of the shelter and doing their best to avoid being caught by us. I knew I wanted an orange tiger striped kitten, and so I quickly grabbed the two and looked them over. One orange kitty had a spark about him and a bit of a mischievous look in his eyes-this would be Moses.
My daughter had been playing with another kitten, dangling pieces of straw for him to bat at. She decided upon him as our second kitten to accompany Moses to our farm-Aaron seemed the logical name for him. So we scooped up our choices and headed home in our car. Neither kitten wanted anything to do with the box we brought for transport. Instead they settled in my daughter’s lap dozing as we drove.
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| First Day at the Farm |
Once at their new home-Grand View Farm-we put them into an empty bunny cage with the door open. I put some of Tere’s fiber in the cage as a bed for them. Aaron found the furthest corner of the cage and Moses cuddled up in front of him. They immediately snuggled up on the llama fiber and began “making muffins,” kneading the fiber with their little feet as though on mama’s tummy.
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| Moses |
The two kitties have made the center part of our barn their new home. They seldom venture far beyond the big barn door unless we are there to escort them and show them new areas outside of the barn to investigate. When I head to the barn, I call for Moses. He comes out to greet me, tail straight up in the air, eyes wide open, and purring loudly. He looks up at me to pet him walking all around my feet and under me. Aaron comes too, but stays about 6 feet back. He hesitates when I put my hand down to pet him. He will sneak out and usually sit down just outside of my reach. 
When they play, Moses shows no fear. He barrels out and over everything. His attention span lasts for only a few seconds as he bounces from one thing to the next. Aaron lets Moses go first, waiting, I suppose, to see if it is safe. When Aaron approaches something to bat at, he does it very tentatively at first. Any slight noise will cause him to jump and run. While siting, trying to decide if it is safe to bat at a tuft of wool on the barn floor, Moses will come from behind and barrel over him. Then Aaron seems to relax as the two roll and tumble together in play. How can such tiny creatures already have such distinct personalities? Moses-outgoing, curious and Aaron-reserved and cautious.
Moses already shows promise as a barn cat. He has sized up our free range chickens and contemplated jumping on one of them. Last night he went to great measures to get to a June bug that buzzed about the barn. I imagine that Moses may become the hunter who chases down the prey and Aaron will sit back and watch and once all seems safe, Aaron will play with the catch.
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| Aaron |
Everyone loves the two kitties (even my husband who seemed questioned whether or not we really needed a barn cat at all). After all-who can resist such cute kittens??
Photographs provided by Anna Goodling
